1. Technical Field.
This invention relates to mobile data interfaces. More particularly, this invention relates to techniques for selecting and using a language for an information interface.
2. Related Art.
Mobile communication devices, such as mobile phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs) with a telephone module, mobile digital assistants (MDAs) or automotive head units with a telephone module may be used for acquiring information in different ways. A typical use for such devices would be to call a travel agency and to ask a corresponding travel agent for flight information. Another example would be the use of calling directory assistance.
Increasingly, part or all of the requested information services are provided by automated systems. In such cases, a customer calls a person and, at a certain stage of the dialog may be connected to a computer that provides the requested information. In some cases, the user may directly call a server or a computer that itself may be configured to enter into a dialog with the customer. During the dialog, the customer may be prompted to enter a question or to tell the system what information is to be provided.
However, in the case where the user is traveling internationally, the user may know none or very little of the language of the country in which he is traveling. In this case, the user may make a call to an information service with the hope that his language capabilities are sufficient to make him understood and to understand the information provided by the information service. The user may otherwise have to seek a human operator who speaks a language familiar to the user. Thus, there is a need for communicating information from a server via a mobile communication device that enables the acquisition of information in an automated multilingual way.